Toggle



Sept. '24, 1929. ,-G. H. CAPEN 1,729,153

TOGGLE Filed March 28, 1925 [aa/venam- 'eoge Htapem,

Patented Sept. 24, 1929 UNITED STATES GEORGE H. CAPEN, OF CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS TOGAGLE ,Application filed March 28, 1925. Serial No. 19,095.

This invention relates to so called toggles, or clips, for engaging skins or hides and other flexible material and is particularly adapted for stretching skins or hides on frames for drying, curing and otherwise treating them.

In the drawing of one embodiment of my invention selected for illustration and description,

Fig. 1 is a plan;

Fig. 2, an edge view;

Fig. 3, a view of the under side;

Fig. 4, a plan of the blank before it is formed into the toggle;

Fig. 5, a plan ofa modified form of toggle;

Fig. 6, an edge view of the same;

Fig. 7, a view of the under side;

Fig. 8, a plan view of the blank from which the toggle shown in Fig. 5 is constructed;

Fig. 9 shows the toggle in position on and in engagement with a hide partly broken away, before the edge of the latter has been rolled under by the bill;

Fig. 1() is a similar view with the hide edge rolled under by the bill and ready for stretchins;

Fig. 11 is a plan of a conventional hidestretching frame showing the general opera-- tion of fastening and stretching the hide thereon.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive and Figs. 9 and 10, my novel toggle comprises first a blank, see particularly Fig. 4, having 'a shank 1, with wings 2 thereon, arms 3, 4, and bill 5. The wings 2, see Figs. 3, 4, are preferably bent along the dotted lines 6, upwardly and then downwardly against the lower face of the shank 1, to fashion and strengthen the shank. The inner edges 7 of the arms 3, 4, are curved downwardly, Fig. 2, to provide a curved bearing edge to engage the skin.

The bill 5 is next bent downwardly and backwardly against the lower face of the shank 1, see Fig. 2, and is next bent downwardly and forwardly, forming the curved bill 8, with a mouth 8a opening forwardly. The reverse side of the toggle when completed is shown as stated in Fig. 3. Of course if the material of which the toggle is made is heavy enough, it need not be reinforced by providing the wings 2.

The shank 1, Figs. 11, 4, is provided at its rear end with an aperture 9 to receive, Fig.

9, a suitable cord 10 by means of which to secure the toggle to the stretching frame 11, Figs. 9, 10, 11. The arms 3, 4 are preferably 55 made of unequal length to facilitate the insertion of the arms through the opening 12 in the hide 13.

To apply the toggle to the hide, thelong arm 4 is first inserted through the opening 60 12 from the side of the hide that is to be up pei-most on the frame, and pushed laterally to the right until the shank touches the edge of the opening. The opening in thehide iS next stretched over the end of the short arm 3 of the toggle. The shank is then raised to a substantially perpendicular position, the

adjacent edge of the hide about the opening at the rear of the arms 3, 4, is slipped into the l opening 8a of the bill 5, and the shank turned 70 downwardly to a substantially horizontal position, Fig. 10, thus turning the edge of the hide inwardly beneath the hide body. This operation results in forming substantially a fold 13 in the hide against which the arms 75 3, 4.I rest when a pull is exerted on the shank, with less danger of tearing the hide than would be the case if the arms simply pulled against the unfolded edge of the opening 12, also the lip or bill 5 being curved and within 8o the outer plane of the edge of the arms 3, 4,

is not in a position to interfere with and dull the knives of the workmen when they run the knives along the edge of the arms to out olf the strip of leather grasped by the toggle, while stretched to the frame.

My improved toggle has many advantages over thel toggles of dierent types now in use. For instance, it is made of only one piece of material as compared with the several pieces of which the clamping type of toggle is constructed; further, there are no moving parts which are expensive to make and always in danger of getting out of order. Again, the jaws of the .clamping type of toggle are very frequently sprung out of shape by a piece of leather of unusual thickness.

On acount of its small size, my novel toggle requires a smaller hole in the hide than the 199 conventional wooden straight stick toggle and therefore destroys less leather to form the hole for engaging the toggle.

The strings on the wooden toggle also frequently slip off and are lost while those on my toggle, being tied through the apertured end, are notlost.

It is also easier to use this toggle because, with the old wooden toggle it is necessary to pnt the string through the hole in the leather,

hold the toggle beneath the leather and then carry the .string through the hole again and Wind it about the toggle.

The ordinary rolled hollow metal toggle with string enclosed is open to practically the same objections as the wooden toggle.

My invention is not limited to the particular embodiment thereof described and illustrated herein, and I claim:

1. A toggle having a shank with skin engaging armsthereon on its edges and. a skin folding bill on the shank providing a forwardly opening mouth.

2. A toggle having a shank with skin engaging arms and a forwardly opening bill between and below the arms for folding the skin.

3. A toggle having a shank with curved arms thereon narrowed at 'the point of joining the shank and askin folding bill extended from the shank rearwardly of the forvward edge of the arms.

4. -A toggle for engaging skins comprising the folded shank 6 with the unfolded eye I section at one end, arms 3, l, on the shank having their inner edges 7 rearwardly curved to present a Vcurved surface to the-skin fold, and the forwardly curved bill 8 engaging the Y top of the skin to fold it downwardly and forwardly.

5. A toggle having the shank 1 with skinengaging arms 3, 4:, laterally extended thereon, and provided with the downwardly turned Vedge 7, and a forwardly curved bill opening in a direction away from the shank.

6. A toggle having a shank with skin engaging arms thereon and a forwardly opening skin folding bill on the forward end of the shank acting to fold the skin away from I the shank.l

In testimony whereof, I have signed my naine to this specification. Y

' GEORGE H. CAPEN. 

